21 July 2016

Holidaying at La Croix du Vieux Pont with Eurocamp

Our family travels so far this year have taken us to Wales for an adventurous weekend away, to Devon for lots of exciting day trips and most recently we spent several days in Berny-Rivière, in the Aisne region of Northern France, at a wonderful Eurocamp site. We really do love to explore, both home and away, and although the weather was unfortunately not on our side at all this time, with torrential rain for the majority of our stay, we still had a nice escape from the norm as there was so much to do on camp.

Our journey began early on Saturday when we drove down to catch a mid morning ferry from Dover to Calais. What I really like with Eurocamp is that certain crossings are included within the break price so it's one less thing to worry about and it was all organised on our behalf. You can however fly or book the Eurotunnel, whichever you prefer.

It was rather busy being a bank holiday but the boat set sail and we were soon arriving on French soil where our journey continued by car. The distance from Calais is 241km which took around 2 and a half hours and the roads were all clear and pleasant to drive on with many being straight motorway. We soon pulled up in the main car park, checked in at a little hut which was filled with leaflets and information to make the most of our getaway, before being shown to our 3 bedroom home from home by bicycle!

I really liked that immediately upon reaching La Croix du Vieux Pont the pace of life seems slower and relaxed, it really helped me to unwind being surrounded by greenery, lakes and wooden lodges. There is a bakery, shops, restaurant and 2 bars within the grounds but the surrounding area, which is a quiet village, has a larger supermarket to pick up all of your essentials too. You don't need to venture far to stock up for your self catering holiday.

Our accommodation had hedgerows to either side which provided privacy and there was space on our pitch to park our vehicle with ease. We stayed in a Vista which typically sleeps 8, complete with decking and patio furniture, and it had a great layout for maximum space. The Mr and I had a double room complete with en suite and there were two twin rooms at the other end of the property where the Mini Mes slept. There was a WC, shower room, good sized open plan lounge (with sofa bed), kitchen and dining area which had two sets of patio doors for al fresco living and it had all of the utensils I would use at home when cooking too. A BBQ and additional equipment like high chairs can be arranged easily too if needed and all of the bedrooms were fitted with blackout blinds which was appreciated.

All towels and bedding were provided for us and we had an Essentials Pack (£3) containing a box of matches, cleaning sponge, dish cloth, tea towel, bin liner, washing up liquid, all purpose cleaner and soap which was really useful. We also had a Welcome Pack (£12) containing fairtrade filter coffee, fairtrade tea, sugar, creamer, 2 x Jam (30g each), olive oil, salt & pepper (8 sachets each), 2 x bottles of water (500ml each), 2 x bottles of orange juice (200ml each), crisps (45g), biscuits, red wine (18.7cl) and white wine (18.7cl) which was great to tuck into after unpacking and before making a trip to the store.

The bakery in particular was wonderful to pick up some lunch and the lady serving was incredibly patient while the Mini Mes practised their French by ordering their cakes and pizza baguettes. It gave them a real sense of achievement and the food itself was lovely - I enjoyed quite a few pasties and a croque monsieur.

Our favourite part of the site was the beachside lagoon lake where we managed to spend a few hours in between the various thunderstorms. The Mini Mes loved going for a swim while the Mr and I watched from the side with a few drinks from the bar where prices were reasonable. When it did rain we were able to make use of the pools which include an indoor pool, outdoor pool, spray park and children's pool. There are waterfalls, a lazy river and slides which are great fun for all of the family. It was great to see the Mini Mes' confidence in the water increase.

There was even an opportunity for me to catch up on my reading on a lounger while the Mr took the Mini Mes in for a while by himself.

A photo posted by Emma (@theminimesandme) on May 31, 2016 at 6:34am PDT

Other activities include volleyball, tennis, table tennis, football and basketball. You can also go fishing, hire bikes or go on the pedalos but if you prefer a little pampering there is a salon on site too. In the family room there are video games, a pool table, table football and pinball to play so there are definitely things to keep you busy come rain or shine although we did spend a few afternoons playing cards and other games in our lounge too.

There are also trampolines, inflatables, archery, a zip wire and climbing apparatus to enjoy when the sun does make an appearance.

La Croix du Vieux Pont is situated closely to Château de Pierrefonds where Merlin was filmed and not too far from Labyrinthe de Mais, Parc Astérix or Disneyland Paris so it's a great base if you wish to explore further afield.

We would certainly holiday with Eurocamp again, and hopefully we will get the opportunity to do so next year, when perhaps the weather is a little warmer! If you do wish to book a break they are incredibly good value with 6 nights in June costing around £500. I've put together a really brief video below to show you more on the accommodation itself too.

3 comments
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That is good value. I am so tempted to book something like this. We've yet to take the kids abroad and I have to say the journey puts me off, but you have made it sound pretty easy! Glad you all had fun.

It is easy, and if you are worried about the driving (which I was for my first time abroad) there are a couple of Eurocamp parcs closer to Calais. Domaine de Drancourt is 1½hrs drive away, and La Bien Assise is literally only 20 minutes from Calais.

If anyone is interested, I have recently started a Facebook group for devotees of Eurocamp - it's purpose is for people to ask detailed questions about specific parcs (eg, where the nearest hypermarkets are) or to get recommendations about parcs in particular areas. As at today, 31st August, it's just 3 weeks old, and with just over 100 members. Feel free to join.